2Consultation with a Hearing Professional Our Mission 1 To provide education, skills and resources to empower those who are deaf or hard of hearing. 2 Facilitate the provision of health services to those who are deaf and hard of hearing. 3 The Hear4U Foundation supports and develops sustainable initiatives that empower deaf and hard of hearing individuals in British Columbia. Our Vision Eliminate or reduce the impact of hearing impairment in under-served populations. The Hear4U Foundation is a non-profit, commercially unaffiliated organization based in BC Visit: www.hear4u.ca for information on how to donate or how to become a recipient. Accessible Hearing Aids from those that Care. In-Clinic Assessment A comprehensive hearing evaluation at any of our NexGen Hearing clinics is free and the results will inform you and your consultant about your current hearing levels. The hearing assessment takes about an hour and is carried out by an experienced Hearing Professional using an array of specialized equipment. You will then have the results explained to you. An audiometric test will reveal how well you hear different frequencies. For example, when a client’s hearing has deteriorated as a result of age or exposure to loud noise, it is common for the ability to hear high frequencies to diminish first. This will lead to a lack of clarity rather than not being able to hear anything at all. Understanding the Results  The graph produced by an audiometric test is called an audiogram. It provides a visual representation of the sounds you’re hearing. Your Hearing Profession- al can advise you whether a hearing aid would be an appropriate consideration based on the results of your audiogram. When first thinking about this you might think “They’re those ugly beige things I’ve seen seniors wear behind the ear”. This is a common misconception about hearing aids, one that has been outdated for many years now. Look at some of the examples on this page and you will see that modern digital hearing aids look completely different to those of days gone by, with some now being completely invisible when worn inside the ear canal. Technically speaking, a hearing aid is a small electronic device that sits in or on the ear that can selectively process and amplify sounds, thereby improving the user’s ability to hear more and understand speech better. In fact you can think of it as a mini su- per-computer because many hearing aids have more processing power than home computers. Essentially, all hearing aids feature four core components: microphones to pick up sound, an amplifier that increases and processes sound, a receiver that transmits the amplified sound into your ear, and a battery to power it. Regardless of the style and size of hearing aids you choose, these four parts are always contained inside the different types of hearing aids available. However, much like eyewear, a trained Hearing Professional needs to establish a‘prescription’for your ears as this is not a one-fits-all approach. Dedicated to research into the causes, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the ear, nose and throat. Your donations to the Pacific Otolaryngology Foundation go almost entirely to fund research contributing to the knowledge base for cochlear implants, hearing aids, diagnosis of head and neck cancer and other ENT disorders. entresearch.org/donations 2153 W 51st Ave Vancouver, BC V6P 1E4 604.261.3730 NEXT GENERATION OF HEARING CARE | 18